Wellington: The Middle of Middle-Earth

The countdown has started for when the spotlight shines on Wellington for the premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, on November 28.

With just over 50 days to go, Wellington Mayor Celia Wade-Brown and Matthew Dravitski from Wingnut Films today started a clock on top of the Embassy Theatre that will count down the days and hours until the first of the trilogy movies is shown.

Ms Wade-Brown today also announced that for the week of the premiere, the capital would be renamed the "Middle of Middle-earth''.

She said $1.1 million would be spent on the movie and events leading up to it in the capital.

There will be 500 metres of red carpet running from Taranaki Street to the theatre, and the film's stars and director Sir Peter Jackson would be walking along it over a period of two hours.

Visitors flying into Wellington airport will be greeted with Hobbit art "the size of a small jetplane'', Ms Wade-Brown said.

A Hobbit-inspired Artisan Festival in Waitangi Park would showcase the work of craftspeople who worked on the Hobbit trilogy.

"Wellington sits at the very heart of New Zealand's innovative and thriving film industry,'' Ms Wade-Brown said.

The Middle of Middle-earth logo was designed by Daniel Reeve, an artist who worked on the cartography and calligraphy for The Hobbit Trilogy.

He paid homage to Wellington by putting a map of the city in the image, as well as a koru leaf representing New Zealand.